Naruto: Pains of War
by NaruGuru
Summary: The last battle. Naruto faces Sasuke, both refusing to give in to the others will. As they fight, Naruto’s friends also have ordeals of their own. After the war, how will Sakura and Naruto handle the knews of thoughs they love who have died. [No couples]
1. Chapter 1

Title: Naruto: The Pain of War.

Author: Lacus.C

Rating: T for swear, violence, and major character death.

Genre: Angst/ Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, for if I did, the anime wouldn't suck and Sasuke would be raped by Oro-chan every night. . Also, more people would already be dead.

Summary: The last battle. Naruto faces Sasuke, both refusing to give in to the others will. As they fight, Naruto's friends also have ordeals of their own. After the war, how will Sakura and Naruto handle the knews of thoughs they love who have died. Not NaruXSaku or SakuXNaru. There are no relationships in this.

Chapter 1: Tears of Blood.

"_Sasuke!" A male voice called.  
A raven haired boy turned around. He was wearing a opened chest beige shirt. His eyes narrowed as a figure landing in front of him. It was a blond boy, about 170cm tall. He was wearing an orange and black shirt, with orange pants. He was panting slightly, a kunai in hand. _

"_Why are you doing this?" The blond asked._

"_Because. Konoha is no longer my home. I work for Orochimaru now." The dark haired boy said. _

"_Why, Sasuke? Itachi's dead. He's dead now, so you don't need Orochimaru's power anymore! After this, he's just going to kill you!" The blond shouted._

"_I know that, Naruto!" Sasuke turned completely to face Naruto. Naruto stood up straight. "But do you think you can stop me? I much stronger then you are now, Naruto."  
"I've grown as well." Naruto retorted._

"_Prove it!" Sasuke drew his sword and ran at Naruto at full speed. When he reached where Naruto was standing, he was gone. Sasuke looked around, then dodged a kunai flying at him. "I told, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, as his body fell from a nearby tower._

_Sasuke smirked. "You have." Then he pulled out a kunai of his own and hurled it at Naruto._

"_Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. You haven't learned yet, have you? I stronger then you'll every be." A grey haired man said. He was wound on his side, but was still standing, though the cut was deep._

_A pinked haired girl was laying on the ground, trying to get up. Strains of hair was laying around her, and her hair was cut untidily by her ears. She looked at her attacker. "At least I'm not obsessed a with a snake freak!" She shout at him._

_The man glared. "You're asking for an earlier death, Sakura."  
"Does it matter, Kabuto?" Sakura asked, standing. "You'd kill me anyway." She closed her eyes and placed her hand on an open cut. Kabuto grinned, and charged at Sakura, kunai ready, seeing an opening. Just as he got to her, she pulled out a kunai and stabbed him. "Fooled you." She said, as Kabuto staggered back. "I may not be stronger, but it seems I'm smarter." She jumped away from him._

"_Damn it." He swore. He pulled the kunai out, a little blood spilling out. "You are smart." He pulled a kunai out and flung it at Sakura, who dodged it easily._

"_Sakura!" A voice called. Sakura turned to see who called her. As she did so, five shurikens flew at her. Two hit her, cause her to fall to her knees. "Sakura!" Sakura looked up, and saw Ino knelling beside her, and Shikamaru and Neji standing near by.  
"Where's Chouji?" Sakura tried to laugh, but it came out a croak._

"_Hospital, he's way to fat." Ino smiled. then she closed her eyes and started to heal Sakura's wounds. A green light appeared around Ino's hand.  
"Ino, you don't have to. I'm fine."  
"Hush, you're just as bad as Shikamaru." Ino silenced._

"_I understand you have friends, Sakura. But I'm getting bored, and I want to finish our fight!" Kabuto shouted. Sakura glanced at him, and saw the two boys standing in front of her and Ino, protecting them. "Come out behind your shield, and I won't kill them."  
"Ino, I'm fine now. Get out of here and help someone else." Sakura said, lightly hitting Ino's hand away. The two girls looked at each other. Ino smiled and Sakura in return. Tears formed in the blonde's eyes. _

"_Your hair. Did he do that?" Ino asked, brushing Sakura's now very short hair.  
"It's alright. It was in the way, anyway. Now go." Sakura ordered. Ino nodded and called the Shikamaru and Neji. Then the three disappeared._

"_Finally Sakura. I was getting really bored." Kabuto said, getting into a fighting stance. _

"_Sorry to keep you waiting, but now I'm a refreshed." She replied, as getting ready to fight. The two looked at each other for a moment then ran towards each other, weapons ready._

_Two men, one with long white hair and the other with long black, were standing at least six feet away from each other. Both panting.  
"It seems… that it'll end soon." The white haired man said. "Give it up now, Orochimaru, and your death won't be painful."  
"What, no 'Stop fighting now, Orochimaru, and I'll spare you.' What kind of friend are you, Jiraiya?" Orochimaru said in his slithering voice._

"_No, you lost that the very day you left." Jiraiya spat._

"_Why? Because you couldn't stop me? Are you still beating yourself up because of that?" He sneered, "I didn't lose that chance, you took it from my."  
"Does it really matter now? You're an enemy to Konoha. You killed the Sandaime Hokage, and maybe our Godaime Hokage. You'll never be aloud in here again, so just die!" Jiraiya bit his hand and hurled it to the ground. In a poof of smoke, a giant toad appeared. "Call on your snake! It won't stop me from killing you!"  
Orochimaru smiled, and did the same as Jiraiya, but appeared on a snake. "Jiraiya. You should now, snakes will kill a toad anytime."  
"Then why aren't I dead yet, snake boy!"  
Orochimaru glared at Jiraiya. The two did a few hands signs, attack each other with jutsu. They both easily doged them. _

_As they fought, memories flashed through Jiraiya's head._

"_**Hey! Yo, Orochimaru!" A young boy with snow white her called. He looked around fifteen. He wore a green shirt and looked rather out-going.**_

_**Another boy turned, though it would be hard to have tell, with a female looking face and bright red lips. His her was long and black. He hadn't done anything with it, so it just hung loosely around him. This gave him a closed look.**_

"_**What is it, Jiraiya. Is Sarutobi-sensei calling us?" The young Orochimaru asked.**_

"_**Nah, I just saw you here and decided to talk." The younger, less perverted Jiraiya said, smiling.**_

"_**Oh."**_

"_**Come on! Don't sound like that! We're friends now! You can't always ignore me." Jiraiya shouted, putting his arm around Orochimaru's shoulders.**_

"_**I can't. I thought I had that chose, being your friend. Tsunade-san does." Orochimaru sighed, shurgging him off.**_

"_**Yeah, but she's a girl!" The white hair youth said, "It's different."  
"When we first met, you called me a girl." He snapped.**_

"_**We weren't friends then." Was the blunt reply.**_

_Jiraiya panted. Both had lost their animals, and were at the last of their chakra. "You're slowing down, Orochimaru."  
"As are you." The black haired man looked up. He licked a wound on his cheek. "You can't stop me. You're a dobe just like your student!"  
"Naruto is far from last now. He's stronger then Sasuke, if he were to use all of his power." He managed._

"_Yes… that's what all teacher's say about their students. But is it true?" Orochimaru ran towards Jiraiya, then jumped into the air. "You can't stop me, Jiraiya! You were a horrible friend!"  
Jiraiya stood there, looking at his old friend._

"_**Orochimaru!" A white hair man yelled. He was at least twenty-five.**_

"_**You're to late! I've been banned from the village, by our beloved Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru sneered.**_

"_**I know. I'm not here to bring you back!"  
"Which is a wise choice! You can't stop me, Jiraiya! You're a horrible friend! I'm glad it over!" Then the black haired man jumped at Jiraiya.**_

_**-----**_

"_**Jiraiya?" A voice called to him.**_

"_**Tsunade? Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted, sitting up quickly. "He's leaving the village! We have to…"**_

"_**He's gone."  
"What?" Jiraiya looked at Tsunade. There were tears in her eyes. He looked down and saw a bandage on his chest.**_

"_**What happened?" She asked, leaning towards Jiraiya. "When we found you, you were out cold and a dead snake beside you." She locked eyes with him.**_

"_**I couldn't stop him… I failed as a friend." Jiraiya looked down clenching his fist. A few tears fell on to the sheets of the bed he was in. Tsunade leaned over and hugged him. "It's alright. You're still his best friend."**_

"_Die!" Jiraiya jumped out of the way as Orochimaru fell down where he was._

_He started panting and the pale man looked at him. His eyes looked on fire. Jiraiya glared at him. "Why don't you?"_

"_We sound like children, Jiraiya. Why don't we start acting like adults." He charged at his one time friend, a sword in his hand. He sliced at Jiraiya, who continued to dodge them. Then, Jiraiya jumped up and landed behind Orochimaru.  
"It ends now!" Jiraiya shouted, throuwing a kunai at Orochimaru's heart._

"_**See ya!" Jiraiya waved. He looked out his hospital at waved at Tsunade and Sarutobi. Then he turned back to Orochimaru.**_

"_**Why is Tsunade-san leaning? Isn't she learning to become a medical nin?" Orochimaru asked, leaning on a wall.**_

"_**Heh, she is, but she has to go take care of her brother. And it's he's birthday tomorrow, she's going to get him a present." Jiraiya said, waving it away. "So, what are you doing here still? Wasn't Sarutobi-sensei going to teach you something?"  
"Yeah, but I thought I'd make fun of you first, since you look like a mummy." He said, smiling. Then he stood up and walked to the door. **_

"_**Yo, Orochimaru. You know… you're starting to look like a guy now." The bandaged boy laughed.**_

"_**I'm going to take that as a compliment, mainly because you're a mummy and it'd be cruel to hurt you." Orochimaru sighed. He opened the door and began to to leave then stopped. "Jiraiya… you know. You're a pretty good friend."**_

_Orochimaru didn't move. As the kunai hit him, he smiled. A true genuin smile. Then he fell down to the ground. Jiraiya walked over and looked at the man's dead body. _

"_You still look like a girl, Orochimaru." Jiraiya said to the still smiling face. Then he turned to walk away. But he staggered and fell to his knees."Shit… It looks like you got me, friend." Then Jiraiya fell over. _

_There, laying on the ground were two men, eye closed, smiling._

_Sakura panted. Even though she had been healed, she was still low on chakra. She stood there, panting, waiting for Kabuto to stand._

"_You have gotten stronger. It made this more fun." Kabuto smirked. "But, you're low on chakra now, aren't you?"  
"Yes, but you are too." Sakura pointed out. Kabuto glared and ran at her. She dodged and punched him, sending Kabuto ten feet away.  
"Bitch!" Kabuto swore, standing. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leading Sakura to looking for where he was. She turned around, trying to pin where he was. "Behind you." Kabuto whispered, stambing her in the back. _

_Sakura fell, but kicked at him. He jumped back, avoiding to attack.  
"When you've been stabbed in the back it hurts, right? This is the second time now. Wasn't Sasuke the first to do it?" Kabuto said calmly. He pulled out a kunai. "I think I'll kill you know. That way you can go see your dear Naruto-kun. He's probably dead now."  
"No, he's still alive. He won't die till he's hokage. Trust me." Sakura said. Then she coughed up a bit of blood. She tried to stand, but couldn't._

"_Die now!" Kabuto yelled, throuwing to the kunai at her with full strength. _

"_Sakura!"  
Sakura looked up. Standing over her was Ino. Ino, with a kunai in her neck. "Hey Sakura… Looks like I saved you again." Ino said, falling forwards. Sakura turned to catch her friend._

"_Ino, why?" She asked, looking at her blonde friend._

"_Because, I'm your friend." Ino whispered, it was the loudest she could manage. She looked up at Sakura. "Don't bother trying to heal me. I'm going to die."  
"No, don't say that! I'm going to try!" Sakura cried. She pulled the kunai out and quickly place her hand where it was, to try and stop the blood. A very pale, green glow showed around her hand.  
"Stop, you're wasting chakra." Ino said, placing her hand on the other girl's. She grabbed it and pulled it away. "Please stop."  
"But…" Tears were forming in the girls eyes.  
"Sakura… listen. Tell Chouji that he really needs to go on a diet. Two people he loved have died and he should listen to them."  
"No, only one has died. You're not going to die." Sakura shouted. The tears were now streaming down her face. "You aren't going to die."_

"_And tell Shikamaru… I…. liked him." Ino smiled, barely. Her voice was becoming very faint now. "And Sakura…. you look good with short hair." Then Ino's eyelids fell, along with head.  
"Ino!"_

"_**I'm so over Sasuke!" Ino said.**_

"_**Really?" Sakura asked. The two girls were sitting on the edge of a roof. It was about midday, with the sun over head.**_

"_**Yed, really. Now Sai on the other hand. Sai is so much cooler then Sasuke. And he's very good looking." Ino explained. Sakura giggled. "What?"  
The other girls asked.**_

"_**It's just, you're like this with every cool or cute guy you meet." Sakura laughed.**_

"_**Hmm… so? Doesn't it matter. It just means I'm outgoing."  
"I'm sure you are." Sakura sighed. "I can't believe that a boy stopped us from being friends."  
"We're hardly friends now." Ino said. The pink haired girl looked at the blonde. "Well… we're still competing against each other."  
"I guess. How about we become friends again?"  
"Sure." The blonde stuck her hand out. Sakura looked at it and smiled. She took it in her own.**_

"_Oh? Did I kill you're friend? I'm so sorry, Sakura. This time, my aim will be better." Kabuto laughed._

_Sakura didn't move. She just sat there, holding her now dead friend. Then she whispered something._

"_I'm sorry, I missed that. What?" Kabuto asked, walking closer._

"_Shut up!" She yelled, throuwing five shuriken at him. He didn't react in time. Three of the shuriken hit him, one in the eye. _

"_Damn it!" He swore, pulling the shuriken out of his eye. There was blood everywhere now. The glared at Sakura with his one eye now. "You're going to die, bitch."_

_Sakura stood up, gently placing Ino's body on the ground. "You keep saying that, but I'm not dead yet!" He could finally see her face. There was pure anger in her eyes, and the desire to kill… him._

_Kabuto moved back slightly. Sakura took this to her advantage and chraged at him. She had some how gotten more strength. She punched him, sending him flying. Right before he hit the ground, she appeared where he'd land and kicked him into the air. Kabuto flew up at least ten feet. Sakura waited for him to fall down. As he neared, she threw six kunai at him. Four hit his back, two were in he's neck. _

_When Kabuto's body hit the ground, Sakura walked over to make sure he was dead. He was. Sakura turned to Ino's body. Shikamaru was standing there. He looked up at Sakura, and she could see he was crying. Sakura walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn't realize, but she was still crying._

_Naruto heaved. Only blood came out. "You may have improved a lot Naruto, but I'm still much faster then you." Sasuke said, stand on top a ruined tower. _

_Naruto looked up at the Uchiha. "Yeah, but you're already at level two of your curse seal." Naruto shouted. Sasuke looked down at the blond with confusing, then smirked. _

"_So you've noticed."_

"_Yeah… but I haven't even used any of the Kuuybi's chakra yet!" Naruto stood up. Huge amouts of chakra came pouring out of the Jinchuuriki. Sasuke flew down from the tower._

"_You were holding back!"_

"_Of course I was! I'm not trying to kill you, Sasuke! I'm trying to bring you home!" He shouted to he's one time friend. Sasuke glared at the vessel of the Kyuubi. _

"_Naruto, I'm trying to kill you!" Sasuke shouted, charging at Naruto. _

_Naruto jumped up and away from him. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Then two clone appeared. The three turned from Sasuke how stood there, taking the chance to catch his breath. _

"_Fuuton Rasengan Shuriken!" Naruto charged the flung the jutsu at him. Sasuke tried the dodge it, but it hit him, slicing his arm off. "Argh!" Sasuke shouted, grabbing where his arm use to be. He glared at the his enemy. "Damn it…"_

_Naruto looked at Sasuke. Memories of their childhood, when they were teamates, friends came pouring into his mind. "Sasuke… I'm sorry!" Naruto then pulled a kunai out and threw it at Sasuke. _

_Unexpectedly, Sasuke didn't move. He just stood up straight and watch the kunai fly at him. "You know… I've always considered you a brother, Uzumaki Naruto." Then the Kunai hit him._

"_Sasuke!"_

A/N: Man! I cried so much writing this. I'm must be evil… I hope you all liked this and cried as well, cause if you didn't, even at Ino's death, you have a heart of stone! Anyway, please review tell me what you think. This is probably only going to have two more chapters, it's a very short story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Naruto: The Pain of War.**

**Author: Lacus.C**

**Rating: M for swearing, violence, and major character death.**

**Genre: Angst/ Drama**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, for if I did, the anime wouldn't suck and Sasuke would be raped by Oro-chan every night. . Also, more people would already be dead.**

**Summary: The last battle. Naruto faces Sasuke, both refusing to give in to the others will. As they fight, Naruto's friends also have ordeals of their own. After the war, how will Sakura and Naruto handle the news of though they love who have died. Not NaruXSaku or SakuXNaru. There are no relationships in this really, other then friends and stuff.**

**Chapter 2: Finding the Truth**

**Sakura and Naruto sat up quickly. They looked around. They were in a white room. Two bed in it, which they were laying in, on opposite sides of the room. The curtains were a light blue color, almost grey. The two soon realized they were in Konoha's hospital. **

"**When did we get here?" Naruto asked.**

"**I assume after the war ended." Sakura said. She looked at Naruto. She saw the pain ached into his face. "Naruto… I saw in my dreams… everything that happened. My fight with Kabuto, yours with Sasuke, and Jiraiya-san's with Orochimaru." She searched his eyes.**

"**I know… I saw it too. I'm sorry about Ino."**

"**So it's true… Sasuke is dead." Sakura whispered. "I'm so sorry Naruto, I know you loved him as a brother… I'm so sorry."  
"Don't be, I'm a ninja. I have to fight the enemy." He said, coldly. She stared at him, with slight horror.  
"Naruto?"  
"I'm going back to sleep." He then laid down. Sakura stared at Naruto for awhile, then leaned back. Around ten minutes later, a blond women with large breast and a black haired women with a small build walked in.**

"**Sakura-chan. You're awake?" The black haired women asked.**

**Sakura just nodded. "Sakura, what's wrong?" The blond asked.**

"**Sasuke's dead, Tsunade-sama… He's dead. Naruto had to kill him." She said calmly.  
"I know. I have a list of those you knew who have died. Would you like to see it, or should I come back later." Tsunade asked.**

"**No… I want to know." **

**She nodded, pulling a scroll out of a bag. "Alright. Here." She handed it over to Sakura. Sakura opened the scroll. There were at least 100 hundred names under the deceased list. She looked for the ones she knew. Hinata, Kankuro, Gai, Jaraiya, Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi. She continued down the list. There was a list of all those who were critically injured.**

**Her name and Naruto's were on it. She saw other names: Tsunade's name was there, Neji, Lee, Gaara, Temari, Kakashi, and… Her heart stopped a moment. Iruka. Sakura glanced over to the sleeping Naruto. She looked at the list again. There were many more names on this list than the one of those who have died. **

"**Sakura-chan?" Shizune asked. "Are you alright? You're crying."**

**Sakura looked up. She then felt tears trickle down her cheeks. She wept them away. "Yes… Tsunade-sama… how bad is the state of those injured?"**

"**Well, I'm doing alright… can't leave this damned building for awhile, you and Naruto will be out in a week. Neji has become blind, Lee can't walk for awhile, but will be able to in a few months, Kakashi has lost an eye, the one without the Sharingan, Temari and Gaara have a lot of broken bones, but both will be out a week after you. Iruka, though…" Tsunade didn't finish.**

"**How bad is he?" Sakura pressed.**

"**Bad… He's in a coma. Lost a few limbs, a lot of blood. We have no idea if he'll recover." Tsunade explained. "He probably won't make it."**

**She looked at her teacher. Naruto… her thoughts fell on him. "Tsunade-sama…"**

"**Yes?"**

"**Don't tell Naruto yet…" Sakura whispered.**

"**What?" Tsunade stared at Sakura. "Why?"**

"**He's…" She said, looking at him. "He's not himself. Come up with something, a lie. But don't tell him. I want him to hear this when he's Naruto…" She looked at the Godaime Hokage. Tsunade smiled. She walked over to the bedside of her students bed. **

"**Sakura… he'll take this the wrong way you know."  
Sakura nodded. The Hokage bent over and hugged the teen. Sakura blushed slightly. "Thank, Tsunade-sama."  
"Get some sleep, and that's an order." Tsunade said sternly, standing up straight. She then left the room. Standing outside, she looked at Shizune. "Shizune, those two have a lot to deal with right now, don't they?" She asked, leaning onto the wall. **

"**Yes, they do." The black haired woman replied. **

"**Sakura-san!"  
Sakura looked up. She was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital for Neji and Lee. Lee was being pushed a special chair by Shizune, and Neil had Ten-Ten guiding him. "Lee-san! Neji!" Sakura replied, standing. She had flowers for both of them. **

"**Sakura-san! I'm so happy you're alright." Lee said, smiling.  
Sakura nodded. She gave some of the flowers him, then walked over to Neji, giving him the rest. "They're florwes, Neji." She said.**

"**I know they're flowers, I can smell them." Neji answered.**

"**Don't mind him, he's just a little cramky right now." Ten-ten said. Sakura nodded. She turned and sat down again. Neji sat down across from her, with Ten-ten beside him. Shizune was beside Sakura, near Lee.**

"**Sakura-san, have you seen Naruto lately? I was hoping that I could talk to him." Lee asked.**

**She looked away. The three teeagers looked at her comfused. Shizune just looked down.  
"Well… Naruto won't talk to anyone… not even Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke-kun's death… most be hard on him still." Sakura looked up at them. "I'm sure he'll come visit soon."  
Lee smiled. "Of course he will! He'll come here and make fun of us crippled, because he's Naruto!" Ten-ten nodded.**

**Sakura smiled. Everyone was going through a lot of pain, but somehow, Naruto was getting the worse of it. She tried to imagine what would of happened, had Sasuke lived… but she couldn't.**

"**Shizune-san, how's Iruka-sensei doing?" Ten-ten asked.**

"**He's still in critical condisions." The woman explained. "We don't know how much longer he live."**

**The former genins looked down. They didn't know if they could handle another death. None of them wanted to lose someone else close to them.**

**Sakura was the most distressed. Naruto was acting extremely cold to the world. They had gotten out of the hospital a few days earlier, and Naruto went straight to he's home, and he hadn't left it yet. Also, Naruto thought Iruka was fine, that he was on a scouting mission, making sure the enemy was gone. **

**Sakura knew this was her fault, but she wanted Naruto to calm down first before telling him this.**

"**Sakura-san, I'm going back to my room here. I'll see you later." Lee said.**

**Sakura stood up and walked over to Lee. "Get better soon. I hate seeing you like this again." She said then kissed him gently on his cheek. He smiled back then Shizune pushed him off.  
"I think we'll get going too. Go see Kakashi-sensei!" Ten-ten said, helping Neji up.**

"**Yeah. I'll see you guys later." Sakura said then walked off.**

**Soon, she found herself in front of Kakashi's room. He was being let out of the hospital the next day. Sakura knocked on the door and poked her head in.**

"**Kakashi-sensei, it's me!" **

"**Ah! Sakura! How are you?" The grey haired man said. He turned to face Sakura, allowing her to see he's bandaged right eye.  
"I'm fine. Are you?" She asked, sitting in a chair.**

"**I'm still getting used to the one eye thing. This is the second time this happened. The first time was when I was thirteen, when I only just became a jounin." He sighed. He looked outside. "That's when I got the Sharigan… from a dear friend." The mood in the room changed. It got heavier, almost sad.  
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.**

"**Don't mind me!" Kakashi smiled. It mood went back to how it was before. She smiled back. "I heard about Iruka. Does Naruto know?"  
"No… I didn't want to tell him. He's still getting over Sasuke-kun's death. I didn't want to bruden him with more."  
"Well, if Iruka dies, you'll have to tell him them."  
"I know." Sakura looked down. "It's not fair… He's getting all this pain, far more then the rest off us."**

**Kakashi looked at her. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, don't look like that. You're the female of this team. He need someone to keep sense of things."  
Sakura looked up. "Thank you."**

"**Oh, and Sakura."  
She looked at her teacher. "Yes?"  
"You're hair looks great. Keep it this short."  
Sakura smiled.**

**After fifteen minutes, Sakura left. She walked through the hospital and soon came to Iruka's room. Tsunade and Shizune were in there. Sakura walked in.**

"**Ah, Sakura-chan! Iruka woke up a moment ago." Shizune said.  
"Really?" She asked, looking at her teacher. Tsunade nodded. "How is he?"  
"Well… it's a good sign that he woke up, but he's still doing poorly. We can't say anything still."  
Sakura stood there. "I see."**

**Tsunade looked at her student. "Sakura, go home. You need sleep."  
Sakura nodded and left. Soon she reached her house. Slowly she made it to her room and sat on the bed. Tears were now falling. "Naruto…" Then she laid down and went to sleep.**

**Naruto looked out his window. It had been a week and half since he left the hospital. He hadn't left his appartment since then, nor had he said a word. If one looeked closely, they could see Naruto was getting thiner. He turned away. Just then he heard a knock at the door. He didn't move. He knew it was going to be Sakura trying to get him to leave here.**

"**Naruto?" A voice rang in. It was female. **

**_Strike one. It's Sakura._ He thought. He turned away and started looking out again.  
"I now you're in there… Naruto… it's about Iruka-sensei…" She said in a said tone.**

**Naruto turned. "Iruka…?" He whispered. He walked over to the door and opened it. Sakura was standing there, in her ordinary clothes, the ones she wore around the hospital. Her was was slitghly swolle, eyes and nose red. Her cheeks were damp. **

"**Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.**

"**Can I come in?"**

**Naruto nodded. He moved aside to make room for her. She stepped in. He led Sakura into his kitchen, the only room with chairs in it. Naruto sat down after Sakura did.**

"**What's wrong?" Naruto asked. He didn't understand why he's mood changed. Was it because Sakura wanted to talk about his teacher? Or maybe because Sakura was crying.**

"**Well… You know how I said that Iruka-sensei was on a mission? He's not." Sakura said, with her head bowed.**

"**What?" He didn't understand. Even Tsunade said he was. And he wasn't anywhere in the village. "What do you mean?"**

"**He never left the village. He's been in the hospital ever since the war ended."  
"That's a lie! No one told my he was in there! Someone would have told me!" Naruto shouted, standing up.**

"**It's not a lie! I told them not to tell you! You were suffering so much, I didn't want you to suffer more!" Sakura said in reply.**

"**Why would you do that!? You're only delaying the truth!" He shouted again.  
"I know!" She shouted back. "I know that. I'm here to tell you the truth now and give you more. Iruka-sensei is dead!"  
Naruto froze. "You're lying again."  
"I'm not."  
"You have not be."**

"**Naruto, I wish I were."**

**Naruto looked down. He hands were shaking. In fact, his whole body was. "Please… Tell me it's a lie."**

**Sakura stood up and walked over to him. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. He's dead."  
Naruto looked up. He was crying. "It can't be… Iruka-sensei… He was… he was…" Naruto tried to finish but he couldn't. He grabbed his chest and fell to his knees. Sakura Knelt down beside him. **

"**Naruto…"  
"Iruka-sensei said… that after the war ended… he would… he would adopt me." Naruto said through sobs. **

**Sakura sat there. She had no idea Iruka was going to adopt him. She thought that Iruka was like a father, but she didn't think he'd really adopt Naruto. **

**Now Naruto had not only lost a brother, but also a father.  
"Oh Naruto, I'm so sorry." Sakura said, as she hugged Naruto. He turned and cried into her shoulder.  
"Why… why only me? Why am I always in pain?" He cried. **

**She could feel tears of her own coming. Her hug tighten. "I don't know. But I promise… I'll always be here for you, always." **

**The two teens sat there. On Naruto's kitchen floor, crying. Neither knowing when they'd stop. **

**A/N: Oh my… weep tears away I'm very sad now. I cried very hard with the last part. I hate myself for killing Iruka, but since I'm aiming for a depressing story. I guess it worked. There might be another chapter after this, or I'll go straight to the epilogue. I think I might go to the epilogue… I dunno. It's going to be awhile till I update this. I have two other stories I'm working on.**


	3. Epilogue

Title: Naruto: The Pain of War.

Author: Lacus.C

Rating: T for swearing, violence, and major character death.

Genre: Angst/ Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, for if I did, the anime wouldn't suck and Sasuke would be raped by Oro-chan every night. Also, more people would already be dead.

Summary: The last battle. Naruto faces Sasuke, both refusing to give in to the others will. As they fight, Naruto's friends also have ordeals of their own. After the war, how will Sakura and Naruto handle the news of thoughs they love that have died? Not NaruXSaku or SakuXNaru. There are no relationships in this.

Epilogue: The memories are still there 

It was a bright sunny day. Everything was normal. People were walking down the streets of Konoha. One could walk through there and think it was always like this.

In a field nearby the main part of the village, two people were standing there. They were standing in front of a well carved rock. It was like a monument, or a tomb. They were just standing there, not speaking. Just staring.

When you stepped closer, you could make out the backs of them. There was a man, tall, and well build. He had spiky blond hair. The other was a girl. A bit shorter the he was, with very short pink hair.

The blond then knelt down and pulled a kunai out of a black box, strapped to his leg. He started to scratch something into the stone.

A few minutes later, a young girl came running towards them. "Rokudaime Hokage!!! Papa is looking for you!"

The girl turned. "Shikamaru? Oh… I guess this is important." She started walking away with the child. Then she was her companion didn't come. "Hey, aren't you coming?"

"Yeah Sakura-chan… I'll be there in a sec. Go tell lazy as-…." He stopped when he felt Sakura's cold glare. "Tell lazy bum I'll be there."

Sakura sighed and walked off with the girl, who was asking what a 'lazy as' was.

The man smirked and turned to the stone again.

About ten minutes later, he stood up. He put the kunai away. Pretty far from there, you could see the pink haired woman and a man with her.

"Oi Naruto! Get your ass over here now! You have paper work and you have to tell me actually what you've been saying around my daughter!" The man yelled. The blond smirked and ran towards the two.

Looking at the stone, you would be able to see names carved into them. All neatly written. At the very bottom, there was another name. Roughly and poorly written. It read '_Uchiha Sasuke'._

Naruto was walking back with Sakura and Shikamaru, not listening to what the other man had to say.

_Well, Kakashi. I know now what it's like to have your best friend's name on that stone. Sasuke died a hero, not a traitor._ Naruto thought, finally giving in to listening to Shikamaru.

**The End**

A/N: Sad ending. I cried…. again. This was my favourite part. I had this planned out in my head before the rest of it. It's just so sad. If Sasuke were to die an enemy of Konoha, I can really picture Naruto doing that. So please, tell me what you thought of my short and sad story.


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